Freedom From A "Chemical Straitjacket"

The New York Times recently ran an article with a rather bland title, which belied its deeply disturbing content. "Attention disorder or not, drugs are the choice for struggling students". The article exposes the fact that a growing number of doctors are prescribing stimulants to struggling students in struggling schools, not to treat diagnosed learning disorders, but to boost academic performance.

The author quotes an expert in prescription medication use among low-income children, Ramesh Raghavan, as saying, "We as a society have been unwilling to invest in very effective non-pharmaceutical interventions for these children and their families."

It goes on to quote Dr. Nancy Rappaport, a child psychiatrist in Cambridge, MA, who works primarily with lower-income children and their schools, as saying, "We are using a chemical straitjacket instead of doing things that are just as important to also do, sometimes more."

It was that phrase "chemical straitjacket" that caught my attention. To put such a thing on perfectly normal children instead of addressing broader educational problems can't possibly be the best solution.

Dr. Raghavan's mention of "non-pharmaceutical interventions" also caught my attention. He wasn't specific about what those might be but we can guess that they would range from educational reform in general to more specific neighborhood level or family-based solutions.

But what about spiritual solutions? Sometimes we forget just how religious a nation we really are and how deeply we, as a people, believe in the power of prayer. The most recent Pew Research indicates that "76 percent of Americans say that prayer is "an important part of their daily life," a figure unchanged for the last twenty-five years. The number of Americans who currently say religion is very important in their lives (58 percent) is little changed since 2007 (61 percent) and remains far higher than in Britain (17 percent), France (13%), Germany (21 percent) or Spain (22 percent)."

So here's my question: If well over half of us are religious and three-quarters of us believe in the power of prayer, why are we so quick to apply pharmaceutical solutions to life's problems?

As a lifetime non-user of prescription drugs, I've found freedom from disease, pain and other problems through focused prayer. And I'm part of a growing trend. A quick Google search for "spirituality and health" reveals a growing interest in how those two key elements of life work together. University research and major media sources are exploring alternatives to traditional allopathic medicine with its over-reliance on expensive, addictive and dangerous drugs.

There are even whole publications that explore "non-pharmaceutical interventions" based on prayer. One example is The Christian Science Journal, where a recent question, "How can I be free of the necessity of taking pills?" is answered by an experienced practitioner of Christian Science healing.

Our nation's health care and educational systems don't need to offer a "chemical straitjacket" as the only alternative to health or learning challenges. Our great strengths as a nation include the fact that we have maintained a religious core and a strong faith in the power of prayer. We can use these strengths to find and maintain our freedom.